KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — According to a study released in late May, inflation is shrinking almost everyone's wallet.
It was conducted by Move.org and used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They compared the Consumer Price Index for 2020, 2021 and 2022 to get a clear sense of how much prices rose.
The study found that between March 2021 and March 2022, the average inflation on prices for all items increased by 8.5%, a significant increase compared to the year before when the increase was only 2.6%.
It said that the average price for all items has gone up by more than 11% over the last two years. It also found that overall living costs have increased by an average of 13% in the last year.
Gasoline saw the highest price increase, climbing around 48% for all varieties in the last year. Meanwhile, prices related to moving also increased by almost 12% in the last year.
The study found that the average price to rent a truck or other car went up by around 23% while the average price for furniture and bedding increased by almost 16%.
Electricity prices also climbed on average, according to the study. It found that in the last year, electricity bills climbed by around 11% and prices for natural gas services went up by almost 22%.
The grocery store has also been a money drain for many people, with the average grocery bill increasing by around 10% in the last year and almost 15% since 2020.
In East Tennessee, the inflation rate has created new challenges for nonprofits like Mobile Meals. They said higher gas prices could contribute to a lack of volunteers, complicating their efforts to deliver food to people in need.
The higher price of food has also put a strain on some local food banks. Second Harvest of East Tennessee previously said they were having to pay much more to get food, and need to spend thousands just to fill up their trucks with gas to deliver food to distribution locations.